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Friday, April 30, 2010

Do you remember the great lesson the Lord taught the children of Israel in providing manna for them which they had to gather daily? Exodus 16:4 says: "Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate (or portion) every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no."

They had been slaves in Egypt and had forgotten their relationship with the Lord. To teach them and prove them, the Lord required that they gather the manna every day except over the Sabbath. They could not collect it or store it. It had to be gathered every day. Spirituality, that condition of closeness with the Lord through his Spirit, is like manna to us. We cannot live well without it, and it must be gathered every day. It isn’t enough to have known, to have read, to have given, to have prayed, to have obeyed.

“If ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?” (Alma 5:26). I hope so:)

Thursday, April 29, 2010

There is a danger in the word someday when what it means is “not this day.”

The thought “Someday I will” can be a thief of the opportunities of time and the blessings of eternity.

Even the Savior, who was without sin, set an example of the need not to procrastinate. He said:

“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

A morning prayer and an early search in the scriptures to know what we should do for the Lord can set the course of a day. We can know which task, of all those we might choose, matters most to God and therefore to us.

For most of us the temptation to delay will come from one or both of two feelings. They are polar opposites: one is to be complacent about what we have already done, and the other is to feel overwhelmed by the need to do more.

The temptation will be to believe that you will return to serve again, someday.

It is hard to know when we have done enough for the Atonement to change our natures and so qualify us for eternal life. And we don’t know how many days we will have to give the service necessary for that mighty change to come.

In the hardest trials, as long as you have the power to pray, you can ask a loving God: “Please let me serve, this day. It doesn’t matter to me how few things I may be able to do. Just let me know what I can do. I will obey this day. I know that I can, with Thy help.”

For those who are discouraged by their circumstances and are therefore tempted to feel they cannot serve the Lord this day, I make you two promises. Hard as things seem today, they will be better in the next day if you choose to serve the Lord this day.

The other promise I make to you is that by choosing to serve Him this day, you will feel His love and grow to love Him more.

You would not want to delay receiving that blessing. And feeling His love will draw you back to His service, wiping away both complacency and discouragement.

I know that Heavenly Father lives and answers our prayers. I know that Jesus is the living Christ, the Savior of the world, and that we can choose to feel joy and peace in His service this day.(“This Day” Elder Henry B. Eyring, April 2007 General Conference.)

Monday, April 26, 2010

Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his evil angels, he said, "We can't keep the Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ. Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken.

So let them go to their churches; let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that relationship with Jesus Christ.

This is what I want you to do, angels. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" shouted his angels.

"Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow.

Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon, their home will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"

Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive. To keep the TV, VCR, CD's and their PC's going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."

"Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards.

Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes.

Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines so the husbands will believe that external beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives. That will fragment those families quickly!"

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted and unprepared for the coming week.

Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy!

And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions." Go ahead, let them be involved in soul winning; but crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus.

Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause. It will work! It will work!"

It was quite a convention. The evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get more busy and more rushed, going here and there.

I guess the question is: Has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be the judge! Does "busy" mean:

Monday, April 19, 2010

"Each of you should be grateful to be a woman! Self-pity is always a sad thing to see and especially when there is no justification for it. To be a righteous woman is a glorious thing in any age. To be a righteous woman during the winding up scenes on this earth, before the second coming of our Savior, is an especially noble calling. The righteous woman’s strength and influence today can be tenfold what it might be in more tranquil times. She has been placed here to help to enrich, to protect, and to guard the home—which is society’s basic and most noble institution. Other institutions in society may falter and even fail, but the righteous woman can help to save the home, which may be the last and only sanctuary some mortals know in the midst of storm and strife.

"One of the important messages that emerges from the history of great women in all ages is that they cared more for the future of their families than for their own comfort. Such good women had a grasp of what matters in life. When called upon to do so, they could fashion a lovely city in the midst of a swamp or make the desert blossom as a rose.

"Selflessness is a key to happiness and effectiveness; it is precious and must be preserved as a virtue which guarantees so many other virtues. There are so many things in the world which reinforce our natural selfishness, and neither our men nor women should be partakers thereof. We have grown strong as a people because our mothers and our women have been so selfless. That ennobling quality must not be lost, even though some of the people of the world may try to persuade otherwise."

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Something to laugh about from a Deseret Book Magazine in 2005 -“And” by Robert Farrell Smith:

"There is a division out there. Not male or female or young and old not those who carefully wind the vacuum cord around those two smug little hooks and those who just loosely hang it around the top one. Nope, the division I'm talking about is one of words, or word, or more specifically, and. Let me clarify. You're in the church foyer wondering where a person could actually purchase furniture like the furniture which lies before you, and someone comes walking down the hall. They say, "You cut your hair." They then walk off to get tithing envelopes, or zip-lock bag filled with chalk and erasers. Lets call those kind of people group "B."

Now, you’re the foyer; thinking, about how avant garde it is to use burlap on the walls when someone comes walking down the hall. They look at you and say, “'You cut your hair ... and it looks good.” Lets call this group of people group "A".

For the record I like these people better.

Not that I don't love group "B." They are often wonderful people and their behavior in no way stops me from contemplating how nice it will be when we finally share one heart and one mind. But I’m usually perfectly aware that my hair has been cut, other things night pass me by, but it would take a significant event for me to forget that some strange person recently spent fifteen minutes hovering around my head with sharp scissors: l know about the haircut; it's the looking good part that confuses me. Again, I'm clarifying.

I have a friend, well actually, I know someone named Les: Which is appropriate, seeing how he truly feels that less is more. He apparently hasn't heard of the word and. "You got married." "You're wearing a new dress."”You wrote an article." I don't know about you, but I was always taught that it was impolite to simply point. ‘And’ makes most things better. "You got married . . . and we're happy for you." "You're wearing a new dress . . . and it looks nice." "You wrote an article . . . and I'm confused."

Sometimes I'll help by filling in the ‘and’ for those who might be ‘anduarly’ challenged. "Hey Robert, you cut your hair." "And I've never seen anything more handsome," I'll add for them. It's then fun to watch them try and find a nice way to express that that was not where they were going with that.

It's petty, I know, but I just think life's nicer when we move from observation to positive opinion. Where would the original Saints have gotten by simply announcing that they were Mormon? It's that "We're, Mormon and let me tell you every single wonderful thing about it" that got most of us here today. That's my gospel tie-in to my random thinking. I suppose I simply want to spread the good word by saying more and not less. To clarify, "You read my article . . . and I couldn't think more fondly of you.”

I just really loved this thought AND I am going to express positive opinion more today because of it:)

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Elder Neal A. Maxwell linked patience and faith together when he taught:

“Patience is tied very closely to faith in our Heavenly Father. Actually, when we are unduly impatient, we are suggesting that we know what is best—better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than His”.(“Patience,” Ensign, Oct. 1980, 28).

Monday, April 12, 2010

"When we better understand the doctrine behind the principles of modesty, we realize that modesty is the virtue that guides and moderates action. When you are well groomed and modestly dressed, you invite the companionship of the Spirit and can exercise a good influence on those around you.”(Sylvia H. Allred, 1st Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency)

Friday, April 9, 2010

"I grew up in a small farming town where water was the lifeblood of the community. I remember the people of our society constantly watching, worrying, and praying over the rain, irrigation rights, and water in general. Sometimes my children chide me; they say they never knew someone so preoccupied with rain. I tell them I suppose that’s true because where I grew up the rain was more than a preoccupation. It was a matter of survival!

Under the stress and strain of our climate, sometimes people weren’t always at their best. Occasionally, neighbors would squabble over one farmer taking too long a turn from the irrigation ditch. That’s how it started with two men who lived near our mountain pasture, whom I will call Chet and Walt. These two neighbors began to quarrel over water from the irrigation ditch they shared. It was innocent enough at first, but over the years the two men allowed their disagreements to turn into resentment and then arguments—even to the point of threats.

One July morning both men felt they were once again short of water. Each went to the ditch to see what had happened, each in his own mind reckoning the other had stolen his water. They arrived at the headgate at the same time. Angry words were exchanged; a scuffle ensued. Walt was a large man with great strength. Chet was small, wiry, and tenacious. In the heat of the scuffle, the shovels the men were carrying were used as weapons. Walt accidentally struck one of Chet’s eyes with the shovel, leaving him blind in that eye.

Months and years passed, yet Chet could not forget nor forgive. The anger that he felt over losing his eye boiled inside him, and his hatred grew more intense. One day, Chet went to his barn, took down the gun from its rack, got on his horse, and rode down to the headgate of the ditch. He put a dam in the ditch and diverted the water away from Walt’s farm, knowing that Walt would soon come to see what had happened. Then Chet slipped into the brush and waited. When Walt appeared, Chet shot him dead. Then he got on his horse, went back to his home, and called the sheriff to inform him that he had just shot Walt.

My father was asked to be on the jury that tried Chet for murder. Father disqualified himself because he was a longtime friend of both men and their families. Chet was tried and convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

After many years, Chet’s wife came to my father and asked if he would sign a petition to the governor, asking for clemency for her husband, whose health was now broken after serving so many years in the state penitentiary. Father signed the petition. A few nights later, two of Walt’s grown sons appeared at our door. They were very angry and upset. They said that because Father had signed the petition, many others had signed. They asked Father to have his name withdrawn from the petition. He said no. He felt that Chet was a broken and sick man. He had suffered these many years in prison for that terrible crime of passion. He wanted to see Chet have a decent funeral and burial beside his family.

Walt’s sons whirled in anger and said, “If he is released from prison, we will see that harm comes to him and his family.”

Chet was eventually released and allowed to come home to die with his family. Fortunately, there was no further violence between the families. My father often lamented how tragic it was that Chet and Walt, these two neighbors and boyhood friends, had fallen captive to their anger and let it destroy their lives. How tragic that the passion of the moment was allowed to escalate out of control—eventually taking the lives of both men—simply because two men could not forgive each other over a few shares of irrigation water.

The Savior said, “Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him,” 1 thus commanding us to resolve our differences early on, lest the passions of the moment escalate into physical or emotional cruelty, and we fall captive to our anger.

Nowhere does this principle apply more than in our families. Your specific concern may not be water, but each of us on earth, living under the stress and strain of this telestial climate, will have reason—real or perceived—to take offense. How will we react? Will we take offense? Will we find fault? Will we let the passions of the moment overcome us?

President Brigham Young once compared being offended to a poisonous snakebite. He said that “there are two courses of action to follow when one is bitten by a rattlesnake. One may, in anger, fear, or vengefulness, pursue the creature and kill it. Or he may make full haste to get the venom out of his system.” He said, “If we pursue the latter course we will likely survive, but if we attempt to follow the former, we may not be around long enough to finish it.”(David E. Sorensen, “Forgiveness Will Change Bitterness to Love,” Liahona, May 2003, 10–12)

Thursday, April 8, 2010

A new Church Web site sponsored by LDS Family Services, combatingpornography.org, offers useful tools for individuals striving to overcome pornography addiction and provides support information for parents, spouses, and Church leaders.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

"Forgiveness means that problems of the past no longer dictate our destinies, and we can focus on the future with God’s love in our hearts."(David E. Sorensen, “Forgiveness Will Change Bitterness to Love,” Liahona, May 2003, 10–12)

Monday, April 5, 2010

I just found this site and thought I would share it awesomeness with you:). Three nationally known artists have joined together to share their witnesses of Jesus Christ through a stage musical. Their efforts, now known as the Son of Man Project, combine the artwork of renowned Christian artist Liz Lemon Swindle, the music of acclaimed composer Kenneth Cope, and the writings of religious scholar Susan Easton-Black.

By clicking here you will be taken to the home page, to a brillant video. Really take the time to listen to it, it will move you.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

I think it would bless our lives immeasurably if we had the kind of attitude about the words of prophets that is shared by Jeffrey R Holland in the story below:

“I was recently in Vavau, Tonga. It is a little island that is 1-1/2 hours away from Nuku’alofa by plane and twenty-four hours away by boat. By boat is the worst trip that can be made. (If you don’t believe that, ask Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, who went there recently to organize a stake and couldn’t get a plane.) When the Area Conference was announced for Tonga, it was determined that only one boat would be available for the Saints from Vavau. The boat held 150 people. If you stuffed bodies into every possible corner of the ship, you could get close to 300 people. Eight Hundred Tongans jammed onto that boat and stood up for twenty-four hours without sleep, without food, without drink, without anything—because they knew that a prophet of God was going to be in their islands and they were not going to miss him for anything in the world.

“Do you want to go to conference that badly? Do you care that a prophet of God is speaking in the neighborhood? Do you care enough to flip on a television set, a radio, or to come to [a] building to watch a priesthood meeting? Eight hundred people stood up for twenty-four hours to get to conference . . . “The President of the Church is here,” they said.

“That’s our prophet, and we may not see him again soon.” And they came.”(“Remembered and Nourished by the Good Word of God,” Jeffrey R. Holland, BYU, Sept 26, 1976)

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"If an announcement came that the Savior himself would speak in General Conference today, would our attitude and preparation for the event change at all? Of course He will. He had made his will abundantly clear in this matter. “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” (D&C 1:38) Not “almost the same,” or “very similar.” or “nearly identical.” It is the same. We are under divine directive to treat the inspired words we hear from the Lord’s servants as we would treat his words. Thus we can honestly ask ourselves. “What did the Savior ask me to do in this past Conference?”

If the Savior was going to speak and the program was going to be broadcast to your television, what other events or considerations would be significant enough to cause you to skip the opportunity? What if an announcement came that the lead article in next month’s Ensign was to be written by the Lord himself? How difficult would it be to convince you not to read it?

The Lord emphasized this point in a revelation given the day the Church was organized. “For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.”

It is not enough to talk about conference. It is not enough to come to conference or to sit and listen to conference or to hear the words spoken in conference. We must make application to our own lives. We must be different because of the conference experience. We must do something".(Ted Gibbons)

Friday, April 2, 2010

Nephi and Lehi were travelling to the land of Nephi when they were captured by the Lamanites and thrown into prison. Whilst in prison they were encircled by fire, but unharmed, the Lamanites couldn’t kill them and the prison walls then began to shake, but did not tumble. The sky then changed, and the land was overshadowed with a cloud of darkness, and they heard a voice coming from above the darkness that said:

“……Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings.“And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul—“And notwithstanding the mildness of the voice, behold the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison trembled again, as if it were about to tumble to the earth; and behold the cloud of darkness, which had overshadowed them, did not disperse—(Helaman 5:29 - 31)

They heard the voice a further two times, but still the darkness did not disperse.

“Now there was one among them who was a Nephite by birth, who had once belonged to the church of God but had dissented from them.“And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi; and behold, they did shine exceedingly, even as the faces of angels. And he beheld that they did lift their eyes to heaven; and they were in the attitude as if talking or lifting their voices to some being whom they beheld.“And it came to pass that this man did cry unto the multitude, that they might turn and look. And behold, there was power given unto them that they did turn and look; and they did behold the faces of Nephi and Lehi.(Helaman 5:35 - 37)

I thought about these verses in relation to General Conference. The Lamanites had obviously witnessed the miracle of fire encircling Nephi & Lehi, and them being unharmed, and they heard the voice of God from Heaven also, but the darkness which had come upon them still didn’t lift. They were directed to “turn and look” upon the faces of the prophets, and only as they did this and followed their teachings, developing faith in Christ, did the cloud disperse.

My prayer is that as we go to Conference this weekend that we will “look” for the 'still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper,' that we will “turn” to the Prophets and Apostles and hear the words the Lord wishes to speak to us, that any clouds of darkness we may be experiencing may also be lifted.

How blessed we are to have the technology that allows us to hear the Lords words, firsthand, from the lips of our Prophets.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

’Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneerThought it scarcely worth his whileTo waste much time on the old violin,But held it up with a smile:“What am I bidden, good folks,” he cried,“Who’ll start the bidding for me?”“A dollar, a dollar”; then, “Two!” “Only two?Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;Going for three—” But no,From the room, far back, a gray-haired manCame forward and picked up the bow;Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,And tightening the loose strings,He played a melody pure and sweetAs a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,With a voice that was quiet and low,Said, “What am I bid for the old violin?”And he held it up with the bow.“A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two?Two thousand! And who’ll make it three?Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice,And going, and gone!” said he.The people cheered, but some of them cried,“We do not quite understandWhat changed its worth.” Swift came the reply:“The touch of a master’s hand.”

And many a man with life out of tune,And battered and scarred with sin,Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,Much like the old violin.A “mess of pottage,” a glass of wine,A game—and he travels on.He’s “going” once, and “going” twice,He’s “going” and almost “gone.”But the Master comes, and the foolish crowdNever can quite understandThe worth of a soul and the change that’s wroughtBy the touch of the Master’s hand.

P.S.

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